Can't Sleep? Log On

It is estimated that as many as one American in ten meet the
criteria for an insomnia disorder; if effective treatment can be
offered in an inexpensive automated form, many more people could be
helped.

SHUTi (Sleep Healthy Using the Internet) is an automated online treatment system to help people with insomnia.
A recent study claimed that SHUTI offered clinical outcomes that were
as good or better than those achieved with a course of personalized
treatment by a therapist.

Lee M. Ritterband of the University of Virginia Health
System, Charlottesville, and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of
an Internet intervention based on cognitive behavioral therapy
techniques among 44 adults (average age 44.9) who had a history of
sleep difficulties lasting longer than 10 years on average. A total of
22 participants were randomly assigned to a control group and 22
received the Internet intervention, SHUTi.

The highly interactive nine-week program uses text, graphics,
animations, vignettes, quizzes and games to present behavioral,
educational and cognitive techniques for improving sleep. For instance,
patients were advised to avoid reading and watching television in the
bedroom, stop daytime napping and change unhelpful beliefs and thoughts
(including worries about the consequences of insomnia) that may
exacerbate sleep difficulties."

SHUTi is just one of a variety of options that will soon be
available to help you work with your own sleep disorder. For example,
the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach records your sleep patterns, to help you improve your ability to sleep soundly.

Science fiction fans have been prepared for a future with automated therapy options. In his 1965 book The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, science fiction legend Philip K. Dick refers to a computerized psychiatrist that can be accessed remotely with a special suitcase-sized device.

"Barefoot, he padded into the living room, and seated himself
by the suitcase; he opened it, clicked switches, and turned on Dr.
Smile. Meters began to register and the mechanism hummed...

The mechanism ... was the portable extension of Dr. Smile,
connected by micro-relay to the computer itself in the basement level
of Barney's own conapt building in New York..." (Read more about Dr. Smile)